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As the subject line says, I have some specific moderation concerns that I'd like to discuss with an impartial third party (if such a person has that role on SE). I'm hoping everyone will understand that I don't want to directly link to the post in question; I don't want to put anyone on the spot publicly and would prefer to handle it on the down-low. I just don't know who to contact. Or how. The issues, generally, are:

  • I flagged a post. Two different mods publicly addressed my issue with completely opposite decisions and I'm not sure that qualifies as a resolution.
  • I am concerned that one of the responses violates this moderation rule: Your goal is to guide the community with gentle, but firm, intervention. Respect your fellow community members at all times; demonstrate fairness and impartiality in your actions.
  • I couldn't find anything in the moderation rules that applies to my third concern, and since this is a community-driven site, I'm not sure if I'm in the right or not.

Is there someone who handles moderator moderation? Please know I am not bringing grudge wank to the table here. If I make a mistake I will own it and not repeat it in the future, and I can handle being redirected and advised of SE policy. If there is someone I could speak to, that would be great. I did make sure and look through all the meta posts to ensure this question had not been asked previously. I also looked for some kind of contact information on the site and in both instances I couldn't find anything on the topic. Thanks!

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    Did a little bit of digging and I see what you see. In this case, feel free to cry foul more explicitly in a new meta question and we'll address it and find a satisfactory resolution to that specific issue. No offense was intended, but I can see how one can be taken in hindsight. – DampeS8N Jan 4 '12 at 19:09
  • Thanks for being willing to discuss it. I appreciate it :) – Slytherincess Jan 4 '12 at 19:17
  • I look forward to clearing this up. :) – DampeS8N Jan 4 '12 at 19:23
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    -1 for keeping it on the downlow and making me seethe with curiosity for the rest of the day :)))) – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 4 '12 at 22:21
  • Hey! Don't make me come over there. . . ;) – Slytherincess Jan 4 '12 at 22:35
  • @Slytherincess - promises, promises... that's all one gets from you Slytherins – DVK-on-Ahch-To Dec 16 '13 at 21:08
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You have two choices:

  1. Bring it up here. Meta is THE PLACE for discussing moderation issues with the rest of the community, the moderators (there are three of them for a reason), and anyone else. Especially if it's a matter of policy or scope, letting others weigh in on it helps to establish guidelines for moderators to follow in the future.

  2. If it's a very sensitive matter, email us (Stack Exchange) using the "contact us" link found at the bottom of every page. Note that we probably won't step in directly unless there's blatant abuse, but we can certainly take the moderators aside and share your concerns while preserving your anonymity.

  • Thanks for that direction -- let me think about it and I'll decide which direction to take. It might be a combination of both. – Slytherincess Jan 4 '12 at 18:35
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    @Shog - is CHAOS team the correct audience, or are they more or PR force? (I don't know internal structure of SE that well despite religiously reading SE blog)./ – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 4 '12 at 22:19
  • @DVK: CHAOS is responsible for external promotion; they're not really responsible for moderators or moderation. The team@ email address doesn't go to them (I'm not entirely sure what you're asking, but hope that answer helps). – Shog9 Jan 25 '12 at 1:40
  • @Shog9 - yes, you answered exactly what I wanted to know - thanks! (suspected as much from SE blog but wasn't sure) – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 25 '12 at 2:05
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Shog9 has responded on the general question.

If this is about that one time that I think you're alluding to), DampeS8N and I did handle the issue within a minute of each other or so, and somewhat stepped on each other's toes. I don't think the result was detrimental to the site, but of course I'm biaised. You can certainly challenge our handling; moderator decisions are not final (we can't revert comment deletions, but we can revert most other actions).

If you'd like to discuss this with us, chat is the best medium, if we can get online at the same time. (I'm often around between 19:00 and 00:00 UTC on weekdays.) We can create a private chat room (visible only to you and moderators) if you like (reply to this post or DampeS8N's comment).

  • Thanks, Gilles. You have always been polite and helpful to me. I have no doubt the issues can be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. I'll check the world clock to see what UTC is. – Slytherincess Jan 4 '12 at 22:39
  • @Slytherincess It's almost 23:00 UTC. I'm still online. – user56 Jan 4 '12 at 22:43
  • Are you in chat now? It seems to be 22:43 UTC... – Slytherincess Jan 4 '12 at 22:44
  • I'll come find you. Thanks :) – Slytherincess Jan 4 '12 at 22:44
  • Okay, I'm in Mos Eisley (yes?) but don't know how to ping you. Can you ping me? – Slytherincess Jan 4 '12 at 22:51

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